Next Hatteras Island Reads book is topic of radio show
The next book in the Hatteras Island Reads community reading program was the topic of the most recent edition of the Radio Hatteras interview show, “To the Point,” which was broadcast on Sunday, June 7.
The book is “Hatteras Blues: A Story from the Edge of America” by Tom Carlson, a retired professor of creative writing and American literature at the University of Memphis. Carlson spent a considerable amount of time on Hatteras to write the story of the island’s charter fishing industry, which was started by Captain Ernal Foster in the 1930s.
The guests for the interview were GeeGee Rosell, owner of Buxton Village Books, who started the community reading program for Hatteras Island earlier this year, and Ernie Foster of Hatteras village, who inherited the family business, the Albatross Fleet of boats, from his father, Captain Ernal.
Carlson’s book was first published 10 years ago in 2005 by the University of North Carolina Press, but the story the author tells is one that still resonates today with those who love Hatteras Island and are fascinated by its history and culture.
“Hatteras Blues” is much more than the story of one family’s business. It’s a story of Hatteras watermen, both the charter and commercial fishermen and women of the island, whose lives and livelihoods are intertwined. It’s also a story of a small fishing village and its people, culture, history, and traditions.
Carlson writes about the excitement of blue-water sportfishing, the struggle to make a living on the water, the renewal of a village and its people after a devastating hurricane, and the poignancy of a vanishing way of life.
“Hatteras Blues” is a book for all of us who live on Hatteras or who love to visit the island, and it’s a book for those who love to fish that will also be enjoyed by those who have never wet a line.
Carlson’s book is the second in the first year of the Hatteras Island Reads program. Anyone can purchase a copy of the book or check one out of the library, read it during the summer, and submit questions to Rosell, who will pose them to the author in an interview that is scheduled to be broadcast on Radio Hatteras in September.
For more information on Hatteras Island Reads or “Hatteras Blues,” contact Rosell at 252-995-4240 or e-mail her at bvb2@mindspring.com.
“To the Point,” which is hosted by Island Free Press editor Irene Nolan, airs on the island’s community radio station, FM 101.5 and FM 99.9, at 5 p.m. on the first and third Sunday of each month. It is repeated on the second and fourth Sunday. Those who don’t live on Hatteras can listen to the show on Sundays through live streaming at www.radiohatteras.org.
Scroll down and click on the “To the Point” logo to listen to the audio of the interview.
MORE ABOUT RADIO HATTERAS
Radio Hatteras is our community, non-profit radio station and depends on grants, memberships, and underwriting.
It broadcasts around the clock with news — including such things as surfing and fishing reports — community announcements, music, and special programs. The station is also now streamed live. To listen, go to www.radiohatteras.org.
Our community radio station also needs your support, and you can give that by purchasing a membership or by underwriting the station if you are a business or another community non-profit.
Radio Hatteras memberships are $50 for a family, $25 for an individual and $10 for a student. Mail memberships and other contributions to Radio Hatteras, P.O. Box 339, Frisco, NC 27936.
E-mail info@radiohatteras.org or call (252) 995-6000 for information about underwriting opportunities.
